The City Cook

Book excerpt: The City Cook is an elegantly simple and eminently practical guide to fitting great cooking into a busy life and a small kitchen, including more than 90 recipes from Kate McDonough, editor and founder of TheCityCook.com. Taking you from fishmonger to cheese merchant to greenmarket and then back to your own kitchen, The City Cook makes confident, cosmopolitan cooking effortless. You’ll learn how to find the best ingredients at specialty shops and farmers’ markets, how to curate an urban kitchen, and how to entertain in the city. It will be easy to resist takeout and mediocre restaurant meals with satisfying, pulled-from-the-pantry dishes such as Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette or Spaghetti with Tomato Paste and Garlic. Deceptively simple showstoppers like Green Beans with Tomatoes and Prosciutto, Salmon Cakes with Spicy Sriracha Mayonnaise, Broiled Black Cod with Miso, and Seared Duck Breasts with Port-Shallot Pan Sauce give you exciting weeknight options. Recipes for Bloody Mary Sorbet with Crab Salad Brioche, Simple Oven-Roasted Whole Duck, and Grand Marnier Soufflé give you an excuse to host a sumptuous supper for your friends.